Forensics Talk

1 in 3 Patients Harmed During Hospital Stay

American Medical News

        Many adverse events can be prevented, providing what a patient safety expert calls "humongous opportunities for improvement."

By Kevin B. O'Reilly, amednews staff. Posted April 18, 2011.

     "One-third of hospital patients experience adverse events and about 7% are harmed permanently or die as a result, according to a study that detected patient safety problems at a far higher rate than other methods.

     The study, in April's Health Affairs, echoes two reports issued in November 2010 that showed rates of adverse events hovering near 25% among hospitalized Medicare patients nationwide and at 10 North Carolina hospitals.

     The findings draw attention to the safety troubles that have lingered in U.S. hospitals in the 12 years since the Institute of Medicine's headline-grabbing report "To Err is Human." The study cited research estimating that up to 98,000 patients die each year due to preventable medical errors.

"This is one of the best studies that now gives us a sense of how much harm is happening to patients in American hospitals," said Robert Wachter, MD, chief of the medical service at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, who was not involved in the research. "There is a tremendous amount of harm befalling patients who are admitted to hospitals and humongous opportunities for improvement."

To judge from a survey released March 31, patients are scared of medical mishaps. Nearly 60% of adults polled by the Consumer Reports National Research Center believe medical errors are common in hospitals, and nearly half said serious harm is common. Nearly 80% of patients said they feared contracting an infection in a hospital, 71% were worried about medication errors and 65% were scared of surgical mistakes. . . " Read More

Man Charged With Sex Assault At Denver Airport

Yahoo News

By SHEILA V KUMAR, Associated Press Sheila V Kumar, Associated Press – Tue Apr 19, 10:51 pm ET

     DENVER – "An Oregon man suspected of raping a 22-year-old woman at Denver International Airport was charged Tuesday with one count of sexual assault.

Noel Bertrand, 26, of Portland, was accused of assaulting the woman just after midnight April 12 on the floor of a concourse. Two airport employees on the tarmac saw the incident through a window and intervened, authorities said.

The woman's family members said they were shocked to hear that Bertrand was only charged with one count. Several messages seeking comment from family lawyer Patrick Ridley were not immediately returned.

The Associated Press does not use the names of people who report being sexually assaulted unless they agree to be identified. The AP also isn't identifying family members to protect the woman's identity.

Bertrand was being held on $50,000 bond and was due in court Thursday, when a public defender could be named to represent him.

He could face a sentence of up to 12 years in prison if convicted, but he would have to qualify for parole to be released and could end up imprisoned for life even after completing his term.

The victim's family members said the woman had missed a flight and decided to spend the night at the airport. A man struck up a conversation at a restaurant, then followed the woman to a spot where he sat next to her and tried to kiss her, according to her family.

Court documents say Bertrand hit the woman in the eye and choked her by her shirt collar as he threw her to the floor and assaulted her. . . " Read More

 

Rosepark Care Home Deaths 'Preventable' Inquiry Finds

BBC News

20 April 2011 Last updated at 05:00 ET

     "The deaths of 14 elderly residents in a care home blaze could have been prevented by a "suitable" fire safety plan, an inquiry has concluded.

The fire at Rosepark care home in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, broke out in a cupboard on 31 January 2004 and ripped through the building.

A fatal accident inquiry said some residents may have been saved if the fire service had been called sooner.

The local health board was criticised for not detecting fire risks.

The residents who died in the blaze were Dorothy McWee, 98, Tom Cook, 95, Isobel MacLachlan, 93, Julia McRoberts, 90, Annie Thompson and Helen Crawford, both 84, Margaret Lappin, 83, May Mullen, Helen Milne, Anna Stirrat, and Mary McKenner, all 82, Robina Burns, 89, Isabella MacLeod, 75, and Margaret Gow, 84. . . " Read More

Prosecutors Say Jackson's Doctor Changed Story

LOS ANGELES – "The doctor charged in the death of Michael Jackson tried to change his story about his actions involving the pop star, telling his own experts in the upcoming trial a different story than he told police, prosecutors said Monday.

Deputy District Attorneys David Walgren and Deborah Brazil filed a motion asking a judge to bar new claims made by defendant Dr. Conrad Murray.

They said he apparently made the new assertions in conversation with two doctors who will testify on his behalf in the case.

The accounts were revealed in letters from the experts, Dr. Paul White, an anesthesiologist, and Dr. Joseph Haraszti, a psychiatrist and hospital director.

Prosecutors believe Murray spoke to the experts after a preliminary hearing in January that focused on his statements to police after Jackson's death in June 2009.

The motion quoted Murray as telling the experts he left Jackson's bedroom to make a phone call, even though he initially said he left Jackson to go to the bathroom.

Experts also said Murray claimed to have experience using propofol — the powerful anesthetic that killed Jackson — as a sedative, even though Murray didn't make such a claim in police interviews. . . " Read More

 For a review, check out my initial report/opinion on Michael Jackson's death in archive pages to the left.

Hospital Errors May Be More Common Than Thought

WebMD

         New Tracking Tool Suggests Medical Errors May Occur in One-Third of Hospital Admissions

By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News

     "April 7, 2011 -- Medication errors, infections, and other hospital-related errors may be 10 times more common than previously estimated, according to a study involving a new tracking tool.

Medical errors may actually occur in as many of one-third of hospital admissions, according to a new study in the April issue of Health Affairs.

“It’s a little scary,” admits study author David C. Classen, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Whether the problem is getting worse or error tracking methods are improving is not known. “We have gotten better tools to detect medical errors which give us a better yardstick to determine if we are improving,” he says.

Researchers used the Institute for Healthcare Improvements’ Global Trigger Tool.  With this method, two or three trained nurses or pharmacists review medical charts for certain triggers such as a stop-medication order, an abnormal lab test result, or the use of a known antidote, and then follow up with a physician review of the medical chart to see if these triggers led to any medical mistakes.

Study results show the new tool may be more sensitive than other tracking methods, including voluntary reporting and other measures.

Protect Yourself From Hospital Errors

Common hospital errors included medication-related issues, procedure-related mistakes, and hospital-acquired infections. The most severe mistakes were related to a surgery or procedure, the new study showed.

Classen says that asking questions and demanding answers can help reduce the risk of medical errors when you are hospitalized.

If someone tries to give you medication, “stop and say ‘I want to hear all about it before I take it,’” he suggests.

Before surgery, “insist that your surgeon comes and sees you before starting the procedure to review the steps,” Classen says. . . " Read More